Wire dispenser



i pfl 14, 1959 w. M. HANco-CK A 2,881,947

. WIRE: DISPENSER Filed Feb. 11, 1954 United States Patent O WIRE DISPENSER William M. Hancock, Lawrence, Mass., assignor toWestern Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. a corporation of New York Application February 11, 1954, serial No. 409,665

1 claim. (ci. zzn-,34)

This invention relates to wire supplying apparatus and morevpartic-ularly to apparatus for supplying groups of insulated wires of various lengths with skinned ends to an area Where electrical units are to be wired.

One common practice is to store these wires in units, mounted on or above a bench, and having rows of compartments or receptacles for holding the wires in vertical position with the upper skinned ends exposed. While the compartments may be of ditferent depths to accommodate wires of different lengths, it is necessary to place the wires in compartments of suitable depths without regard to their position in the unit, the convenience of the operator or the frequency with which wires of a particular length are used. This arrangement is also objectionable in several other respects. Since the sharp ends of the wires are exposed, they present a hazard to the operator and they are apt to be bent by accidental contacts. The operator must grasp the skinned end when withdrawing a wire thereby contaminating the cleaned surface and impairing its solderability and also making it necessary to shift his grip along the wire to the insulated portion before he can begin the soldering operation. In addition, when a new supply of wires is required, it is difficult to refill these lixed compartments without disturbing the operator.

The object of the invention is a wire supplying ap. paratus which is free of the aforementioned objections and which protects both the operator and the wires.

With this and other objects in view, the invention comprises an apparatus for supplying groups of insulated wires of various lengths with skinned ends to an area where electrical units are to be wired, the apparatus including a support for the units having a plurality of adjacent, like apertures therein to receive tubes of like cross-sectional contours with lengths corresponding to the lengths of their respective groups of wires held with their upper ends at any desired positions above the support.

More specifically, the tubes with their closed lower ends and open upper ends are preferred to be slightly longer than the wires to be disposed therein so as to guard against injury to the operator and disturbance to the skinned ends. Lateral openings in the tubes near the upper ends provide access to the wires, making it necessary for the operator to grip the insulated portion of the wire adjacent the skinned ends so that it is held in position for attachment to its respective electrical unit without extra handling. The mounting of the tubes in the apertures with adjustable flexible collars, permits the tubes to rest with their upper ends at any desired level and with the openings at any desired position within the choice of the operator, with the remaining length of each tube extending down beneath the support. Furthermore, empty tubes may be removed individually and replaced with other loaded tubes without disturbing the operator.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein;

Patented Apr. 14, 1959 Fig. l is an isometric view of the apparatus;

Fig. 2 is an isometric view of one of the tubes of the apparatus, and

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of one of the tubes illustrating the manner of removing the wire therefrom.

The apparatus includes a support 10, for a frame or other structure 11 wherein electrical units are to be wired, having a plurality of like apertures 12 disposed in rows or any desired arrangement adjacent the work area or frame. Tubes 14, of like cross-sectional contours, having closed lower ends 15 are of different lengths depending upon the lengths of groups of insulated wires 16 having skinned ends 17 which are to be disposed therein. Itis preferred that the tubes be longer or higher than the lengths of wires, as illustrated in Fig. 2, to protect the operator and to eliminate disturbance to the leading ends of the wires, whereby they may remain straight at all times. Openings or cut-away portions 18 in the tubes, like or various distances from the open ends 19, permit access to the insulated wires short of the skinned ends 17 thereof. In the present embodiment of the invention, the openings 18 are like distances below the open end 19 for the reason that the skinned ends 17 are of equal lengths, but, should these skinned ends be of greater or lesser lengths than that shown, the positions of the openings 18 may be varied accordingly. A flexible ring Z0 disposed concentric with each tube may be adjusted longitudinally of its tube relative to the opening 18 or the upper end 19 thereof depending on the aperture in which its t-ube is to be disposed. As illustrated in Fig. l, the tubes may be placed in any of the apertures regardless of their lengths and supported at the desired locations by the members or rings 20.

With the tubes lled with groups of their respective wires, the operator may proceed with the wiring of the electrical units, having the tube with the wires which are used the most at the closest position and the other wires according to their popularity located in the tubes spaced from the initial tube. The wires are removed, as illustrated in Fig. 3, by gripping one of the wires by its insulation in the opening 18 and pulling the wire from the tube as shown. Truly this gives a bend to the wire adjacent the area where the wire is gripped and positions the skinned end 17 of the wire for immediate attachment to its respective electrical unit. With this arrangement, the tubes may be rotated about their center lines until their openings 18 are in the positions desired by the operator. Furthermore, the tubes may be employed to receive the wires from the skinning machine and for transporting the groups of wires from the Skinning machine to any desired location where needed to replace an empty or partially empty tube without disturbing the operator.

It is to be understood that the above described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

The combination with groups of insulated wires, wherein the wires in each group are of like lengths while the lengths of the different groups of wires vary and wherein the ends of the wires are skinned, to be supplied to an area where they may be used in wiring electrical units, of a support disposed in said area and having rows of like apertures therein including a front row, a back row and an intermediate row, tubes of like cross-sectional contour with open upper ends to receive their respective groups of wires, a portion of each tube being cut away to provide like openings in the tubes, the tops of the openings being disposed predetermined distances from the bottoms of their respective tubes, which distances are less than the lengths of the wires in the respective tubes so as to leave a complete shielding portion of each tube beneath the open upper end thereof to shield against contact with the skinned upper ends of theirk groups of wires, the openings providing access for withdrawal of the wires, the dimensional length of each tube being greater than the length of its group of wires, bottom members mounted to close their respective bottom ends of the tubes to support their groups of Wires in positions where their upper skinned ends will be positioned in the shielding portions beneath the open upper ends, and ilexible collars surrounding the tubes and adjustable longitudinally of the tubes to rest on the support and hold any selected group of the tubes of varied lengths in the front row and position their openings adjacent the support, and to support and hold selected groups of the remaining tubes of varied lengths in the back and intermediate rows of apertures and position their openings at selected positions higher, with respect to the support, than the upper ends of the tubes in front thereof.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,716,628 Gittleman June 11, 1929 1,760,538 Becker May 27, 1930 2,201,257 Bell May 21, 1940 2,256,074 Crebbs Sept. 16, 1941 2,256,257 Dukehart Sept. 16, 1941 2,558,920 Baggs July 3, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 822,709 Germany Nov. 26, 1951 

